Invasion
Invasion Description
1st record: Woods Hole/MA/Buzzards Bay-Vineyard Sound (1875, Gray 1879, cited by Ganong 1897, only 2 shells found in 1875, abundant in 1876)
Geographic Extent
Chatham/MA/Nantucket Sound (MCZ 214405, Museum of Comparative Zoology 2008); South Dennis/MA/Nantucket Sound (1910. USNM 450200, (USNM 153596, U.S. National Museum of Natural History 2007); W Jetty, Nantucket Island/MA/Nantucket Sound (1947, USNM 592028, , U.S. National Museum of Natural History 2007); Nantucket Island, South Beach/MA/Atlantic Ocean (USNM 590448, US National Museum of Natural History 2007); Brant Point, Nantucket/MA/Nantucket Sound (MCZ 132255, Museum of Comparative Zoology 20908); Nantucket Island, South Beach/MA/Atlantic Ocean (MCZ 192881, Museum of Comparative Zoology 2008); Tuckernuck Island/MA/Nantucket Sound (MCZ 192882, Museum of Comparari\tve Zoology 2008); MA/Waquoit Bay (Malpass and Geist 1996); Woods Hole/MA/Buzzards Bay-Vineyard Sound (1875, Gray 1879, cited by Ganong 1897, only 2 shells found in 1875, abundant in 1876); Martha's Vineyard/MA/Vineyard Sound (USNM 153596, U.S. National Museum of Natural History 2007); Falmouth/MA/Great Pond (1963, USNM 660504, U.S. National Museum of Natural History 2007);; Old Silver Beach, N of Falmouth/MA/ Buzzard's Bay (MCZ 201361, Museum of Comparative Zoology 2008); Cape Cod, Bourne, Wing's Neck/MA/Buzzards Bay (MCZ 182310, Museum of Comparative Zoology 2008); Cape Cod, Bourne, Monument Beach/MA/Buzzards Bay (MCZ 182311, Musuem of Comparative Zoology 2008); Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Bourne/MA/Buzzards Bay (2000, MIT Sea Grant 2007); South Dartmouth, Sta 1839/MA/MCZ 211135, Museum of Comparative Zoology 2008); Fall River/MA/Mount Hope Bay (1950, USNM 595270, U.S. National Museum of Natural History 2007); Bristol/RI/Mouth of Warren River, Narragansett Bay (MCZ 223541, Museum of Comparaitve Zoology 2008); Rocky Point, Warwick/RI/Narragansett Bay (USNM 407580, U.S. National Museum of Natural History 2007); Colt State Park, Bristol/RI/Narragansett Bay (2000, MIT Sea Grant 2007); Tiverton/RI/Sakonnet River (1932, MCZ 163257, Museum of Comparative Zoology 2008); Narragansett Pier/RI/Rhode Island Sound (MCZ 223543, Museum of Comparaitve Zoology 2008); Wickford/RI/Narragansett Bay (MCZ 223542, Museum of Comparaitve Zoology 2008); Newport/RI/Narragansett Bay (1880, Verrill 1880, abundant by 1887, Ganong 1887); Block Island/RI/Block Island Sound (MCZ 174570, Museum of Comparative Zoology 2008); Lloyd's Neck/NY/Long Island Sound (1881, Bequaert 1943); . New Haven/CT/Long Island Sound (1879, Bequaert 1943); CT/Saugatuck River, Beach Just E Of River Mouth (USNM 715599, US National Musuem of Natural History 2008); Westbrook/CT/Long Island Sound (Musuem of Comparative Zoology 2008); Cold Spring Harbor/NY/Long Island Sound (Balch 1899; Stonington/CT/Fishers Island Sound (Bequaert 1943); Long Island, Sea Cliff/NY/Long Island Sound (MCZ 219933, Museum of Comparaitve Zoology 2008); Long Island, Orient Beach State Park/NY/Long Beach Bay (MCZ 219834, Museum of Comparative Zoology 2008); Shelter Island, Shell Beach/NY/Peconic Bay (1953, USNM 714131, U.S. National Museum of Natural History 2007); Oyster Bay/NY/Long Island Sound (MCZ 236890, Museum of Comparative Zoology 2008); Atlantic Beach/Long Island/Atlantic Ocean (1937, USNM 617372, U.S. National Museum of Natural History 2007); Long Island/NY/Shinnecock Bay (MCZ 241023, Museum of Comparative Zoology 2008); Staten Island/NY/Narrows, New York Harbor (1888, Bequaert 1943); Coney Island/NY/Sandy hook Bay (1936, USNM 422378, U.S. National Museum of Natural History 2007); Long Island/NY/Sheepshead Bay (USNM 663931, U.S. National Museum of Natural History 2007); Long Branch/NJ/Shrewsbury River (USNM 435392 , U.S. National Museum of Natural History 2007); Point Pleasant/NJ/Atlantic Ocean (1894, Alexander 1947); NJ/Manasquan Inlet (USNM 633525, U.S. National Museum of Natural History 2007); Barnegat Light/NJ/Atlantic Ocean (USNM 888851, U.S. National Museum of Natural History 2007); NJ/Barnegat Inlet (1972, Peterson 1979); Atlantic City/NJ/Atlantic Ocean; Neptune City/NJ/Atlantic Ocean; Intracoastal Waterway jetties, Cape May/NJ/Delaware Bay (1946, Alexander 1947); Wells 1965; USNM 406306, U.S. National Museum of Natural History 2007); Army Pier, Cape Henlopen/DE/Delaware Bay (1970, Kraueter 1965); Lewes/DE/Breakwater Harbor, Roosevelt Inlet, Mouth Of Inlet (1980, USNM 803495, U.S. National Museum of Natural History 2007); Cape May/NJ/Delaware Bay (USNM 406306, U.S. National Museum of Natural History 2007); Army Pier, Cape Henlopen/DE/Delaware Bay (1970, Kraueter 1965); Lewes/DE/Breakwater Harbor, Roosevelt Inlet, Mouth Of Inlet (1980, USNM 803495, U.S. National Museum of Natural History 2007); Rehoboth/DE/Indian River Inlet; ODE/Indian River Inlet Opening (MCZ 198037, Museum of Comparative Zoology 2008); Ocean City/MD/Atlantic Ocean (1959, Wells 1965); Chincoteague/VA/Chincoteague Bay (Krauter 1974); Chincoteague Island, S End, By Barge Wreck/VA/Chincoteague Bay (USNM 709281, U.S. National Museum of Natural History 2007); Assateague Island/MD/Chincoteague Bay (Counts and Bashore 1991; Prezant et al. 2002) Wachapreague /VA/Atlantic Ocean (Vermeij 1982) V
Vectors
| Level | Vector |
|---|---|
| Probable | Natural Dispersal |
| Alternate | Hull Fouling |
| Alternate | Dry Ballast |
Regional Impacts
| Ecological Impact | Herbivory | |
| Removal experiments in Mount Hope Bay RI indicate that herbivory by Littorina littorea removes leafy algae such as Ulva spp. on a cobble beach, resulting in the growth of an algal canopy (Bertness 1984). In Port Jefferson Harbor NY, Long Island Sound, grazing by L. littorea also reduced abundance of Ulva, though dense patches were grazed only at high densities, and the alga managed to persist in irregularities in the rocks (Petraitis 1983). In Mount Hope Bay, grazing by L. littorea also reduced the growth and reproduction of the marsh grass Spartina alterniflora (Smooth Cordgrass) by consuming rhizomes of the plant (Bertness 1984). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Habitat Change | |
| Removal experiments in Mount Hope Bay, RI indicate that herbivory by Littorina littorea has major effects on habitat structure, by removing algae and Spartina, preventing the accumulation of sediment, and removing habitat for soft-bottom fauna (Bertness 1984). Bertness suggests that the Littorina invasion may have resulted in the reduction of marsh habitat and other soft-bottom habitats (Bertness 1984). Grazing by L. littorea had different effects on the Rock Barnacle Semibalanus balanoides (in Long Island Sound, NY) depending on snail density. Moderate densities favored barnacle settlement by removing algae, but high densities of snails removed large numbers of barnacle cyprids (Petraitis 1983). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Competition | |
| In the Woods Hole area, from 1900 to 1930, Littorina littorea was observed to gradually exclude Ilyanass obsoleta (Eastern Mudsnail), from cobble shores and wood pilings, and increasingly invading marshes, largely confining I. obsoleta to mudflats (Dimon 1905; Clench 1930, cited by Brenchley and Carlton 1983). However, experimental studies of the mechanisms of competition were not conducted in this region, to our knowledge. In Mount Hope Bay RI, I. obsoleta was observed to emigrate from sites where large numbers of L. littorea had been added (Bertness, unpublished, cited by Brenchley and Carlton 1983). In experimental cage manipulations near Woods Hole MA, L. littorea depressed the growth of L. saxatilis (Rough Periwinkle), probably due to food competition. However, this effect was not seen in the upper interidal zone, where L. saxatilis is more abundant (Yamada and Mansour 1987). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Food/Prey | |
| The high biomasses of L. littorea may have benefited two invading crab species, the Green Crab (Carcinus maenas and Asian Shore Crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus). Littorina littorea is a frequent food item for both species (H. s., Gerard et al.1999; C. m., Vermeij 1982; Ropes 1989). | ||
| Ecological Impact | Parasite/Predator Vector | |
| The introduction of Littorina littorea to the Northwest Atlantic is believed to have also introduced the digenean trematode Cryptocotyle lingua. Common Periwinkles, collected at 7 sites from Massachusetts, were infected with C. lingua (Stunkard 1930; Pohley 1976; Blakeslee and Byers 2008). The rediae (first parasitic stages) have infected not only L. littorea, but also native populations of L. saxatilis (Rough Periwinkle) and L. obtusata (Smooth Periwinkle) (Pohley 1976; Blakeslee and Byers 2008; Blakeslee et al. 2008). The trematodes cause extensive damage to the host's digestive and reproductive systems (Wood et al. 2009). The rediae of C. lingua metamorphose into cercariae, which have a swimming tail and infect fishes (Stunkard 1930; Sindermann et al. 1962). When infected fish are eaten by birds or mammals, the metacercariae grow in the final host's digestive tract and reproduce (Stunkard 1930; Sindermann et al. 1962). Thus, the introduction of the Common Periwinkle has added a new parasite to 3 trophic levels. | ||